The last year attack of WannaCry ransomware made one thing clear i.e. the cryptovirological operators can target computer users everywhere across the world. That ransomware attack infected hundreds and thousands of users in more than 140 countries. The affected users had to spend millions of dollars on ransomware removal and restoration measures. Middle Eastern countries particularly UAE and Qatar with exceptional GDP per capita values and as centers for foreign investments can be the next big targets of ransomware operators.
If we particularly talk about the UAE, then the country has been a hub of economic activity in the region for a very long time. One of its emirates Dubai hosts the headquarters and regional offices of various multinational firms. This is one of the reasons why UAE has taken a significant brunt of cyber attacks in the Middle Eastern region.
Businesses and individuals lost more than $1 billion dollars due to various cyber crimes in the UAE last year. Losses due to incurred downtime and the cost of ransomware removal were also included in this figure. However, the exact amount of ransomware-related losses hasn’t been established so far.
The region luckily hasn’t been hit by an Atlanta-style ransomware attack so far. However, it is the writing on the wall that these type of attacks are inevitable because of the ever-increasing prevalence of the Internet of Things.
A digital firm rendering cybersecurity services to the organizations operating in the region has estimated the projected losses of ransomware attacks. According to its estimate, a ransomware attack on the networks of an average business in the region might result in the losses of roughly one million dollars including the cost of ransomware removal and system restoration. It has also been noted that the majority of companies in the region are still operating on bare minimum cybersecurity. This carelessness can prove to be dangerous in the future.
